You outta be in pictures

So as many of you may know, now that we've finally gotten most of the renovations complete on our 1970s abode... we're gearing up to sell up. I've taken a ton of pictures in the last week getting ready to post our listing on FSBOBR.com, and as I starting scrolling them them I kept finding errant heads and smiles popping up in the frames. Some are goofy, some are cute, and some are completely nonchalant. But they all remind me of the people who live in this house, particularly the little ones who helped us make this house a home.

Here are some of the "outtakes":

Hannah's room

Hallway

Lucy's "Baby Girl Pink" room

Living room

Because we've been in a constant state of renovation the entire time we've lived in this house, I don't know if I ever really and truly felt at home in it (like I didn't need to be painting something, etc.). And now that we're getting ready to leave it, I've never felt more at home here. Of course. I guess it doesn't hurt that the house has never been cleaner!

If you know anyone looking for a house in Baton Rouge, please send them our way! And please keep us in your prayers for a speedy sale -- we have open houses this Sunday and next Sunday. And Lucy's birthday party this Saturday, and a baby shower and Father's Day next weekend, and my church small group here in a few weeks, and a beach trip the weekend after that, and Hannah's 1st birthday party the weekend after that... Calgon take me away!

Ode to Dada

The transformation I have witnessed in my husband during the last two years of fatherhood has been nothing short of amazing.  I've seen his face fill with abundant joy, his heart swell with love and pride, and his entire life take on deeper meaning and purpose.  He completely delights in Lucy's company and it's obvious to anyone observing them that the feeling is exceedingly mutual.  He is anxiously awaiting the new addition to our family, and I've been sharing with the squirming baby girl in utero how lucky she is to already be loved by such a wonderful Daddy.

So three cheers for the Dada who...

is always there to share in celebrating the most special days,

paints rooms a delicious shade of Baby Girl pink (and installs floors and crown molding, and puts together beds and dressers, and installs kitchen cooktops and tile backsplashes...),

sets up afternoon play sessions in the backyard baby pool,

tickles little girls until they squeal with excitement and can hardly breathe,

is victorious at the mini-golf course while recreating our very first date,

instills a healthy appreciation of a variety of musical instruments,

loves to fish and to be in the great outdoors,

lifts babies onto his shoulders and makes them feel larger than life,

participates in swim lessons even though he generally hates going to the pool,

picks up flowers for his pregnant wife while grocery shopping,

and teaches burgeoning chefs how to cook.

We are truly blessed beyond measure to call this Renaissance man our husband and father.  Happy Father's Day!!!

Who's bad?

Other than saying "no!", throwing sippy cups onto the floor, fighting with me to stand up in the bathtub, and constantly taking the bows/barrettes out of her crazy hair (see evidence above), Lucy's absolute favorite new thing to do is to slowly and methodically extract every single last tissue from the Kleenex box. I've tried to place them strategically out of reach, but I swear she can sniff them out somehow! And when you come in and bust her in the act, she'll laugh and spread them all around like she's cleaning the floor.

(Speaking of floors... doesn't our bedroom floor look nice? This was another of Handy Andy's summer projects. Now we just have to find a rug to go with the new wall color and curtains so we can set the bed frame/headboard back up. It never ends...).

DIY Weekend

Now that Andrew's out of school for the summer, we (well, mostly he) can finally get back to some of the home improvement projects we started on way back before our new addition came along and took what we used to call "free time on the weekends" hostage! The decor of our house when we bought it could best be decribed as "70s lounge" and we've had to overhaul pretty much everything, and I do mean everything, to bring it into the current century.

This is our hall/guest bathroom which started out featuring carpeted floors, dark brown cabinets and closet doors with brass hardware, a globe light fixture hanging from a dual chain system (don't worry you'll get a picture of it soon!), bronze towel racks, wallpaper with grape clusters on it, and a broken vent/light system. Most of those atrocities were taken care of already, but we left the floors for last.

We pulled up the carpet (who puts carpet in a bathroom???) this weekend and headed to Home Depot...

Andrew then measured out the space and cut the tiles, and arranged them and these cute borders in the space while I tried to keep a very curious and crawling Lucy from getting into the mortar while it set...


And finally he filled it in with grout and stained it to match the older (and therefore darker) grout lines. Doesn't it look great? I am a fortunate lady because he is so incredibly skilled at this kind of stuff. Stay tuned for more pictures and stories about our (Andrew's) DIY summer projects!

Southland in the springtime

Our new "midnight green" shutters for the house finally came in last weekend, so Lucy and I grabbed some toys and a blanket and enjoyed the springtime sunshine while Andrew expertly hung them up. Lucy and Evie together are quite the draw -- I think half the neighborhood stopped by to say hello to them (probably because of Lucy's cute little sun hat). She loves being outside and taking everything in -- literally. She managed to stick a few leaves and blades of grass in her mouth when I wasn't looking. :) We are ready for this schizophrenic weather to make up its mind and stay warm already!

Getting ready for baby

We have been working on Lucy's room for what seems like forever now, and it's finally starting to come together. Andrew found our changing table on craigslist.com and painted/refinished it with great results. My "handy Andy" did such a great job putting together all the nursery furniture, scraping the popcorn ceiling, installing the hardwood floors...

Lucy is already a lucky girl to have a daddy who cares about her so much!

In the dog house

Andrew recently spent a Saturday afternoon building a dog house for our beloved Evie. And not only did he do this project completely by hand without any sort of blueprint or instructions, but he completed the entire thing in a matter of hours. The finished product has a slanted roof with with real shingles, siding, and a warm bed for Evie to snuggle up in. She loves it (see picture)! Of course, it will probably only make the laziest dog in the world even more lethargic, but who can argue with having a charming room of one's own to call home? I have been so impressed with everything my "Handy Andy" has tackled since we moved into our new house a few months ago, and his latest project deserves even more praise...

Good fences make good neighbors

Much thanks to my father-in-law Charlie for bringing his truck down to Baton Rouge this weekend to help us move an existing fence and to close off the carport by building a new one. Hopefully Evie will appreciate her new home in the big backyard, and we will certainly enjoy not having to get out of the car to open & close the gate on the driveway every day. I can't say I was much help in the fence-constructing process, but I did manage to snag some pictures of Andrew and his dad engaging in some pole digging action. Charlie is always ready to drive a distance to help us anytime we need him (he joked that the cat was in hiding during his visit because if she hears his voice it must mean he's come to help us move again!), and for this we are so sincerely appreciative.